“I can, in truth, firmly say that the longer I keep turning away from my homosexual desires, the less in strength they become.”

Moore was all about attempting the “praying away the gay” idea. In “My Story: Homosexuality, Drunkenness, Grace and Redemption,” he spoke openly about ongoing struggle with “homosexual urges” following his attempt to be someone he’s not “conversion process.”

“What gives me assurance, and what I believe speaks volumes of the grace of God and the power of the gospel, is that year by year, month by month, week by week, day by day—-I continue to fightthe fight of faith. I have sought after Jesus and I have turned from sin daily.”

Predictably, “praying away the gay” didn’t work. Matt was ‘lured back into homosexuality’ and was recently spotted trolling for men via Grindr, a popular gay geo-social networking application.

On Monday, Zinnia Jones of Freethought Blogs received a tip from one of her readers. The reader made the claim that Moore was seen on Gindr seeking “special friends.”

In a puzzling move, Moore used the exact same photo that he uses on his Twitter account when creating his Grindr account. The initial reaction was that someone was using Moore’s photo in a fake profile. There was also speculation that–if the Grindr account was indeed his–he would attempt to deny the allegations. His denial would have been accepted by most people. However, when confronted, Moore confirmed immediately in an interview with Zinnia Jones that it was indeed his Grindr profile.

“The grindr profile was really mine. I’ve been on it on and off for the last couple of weeks.”

Like I told the guy who sent you the picture, I am wrong in having been on grindr. I haven’t changed my views on homosexuality, the bible, etc.

Creating a grindr profile and talking to guys on it was major disobedience on my part….disobedience to Christ. Disobedience to a loving and gracious God. Thankfully, I believe that He forgives me for this disobedience. I believe the blood of Christ covers this disobedience. And I won’t be on grindr again….ever.

The pastor of my church and the church body I am a part of were informed about me being on grindr (I told them) before all of this came out, publicly.

Thankfully, I believe that He [God] forgives me for this disobedience. I believe the blood of Christ covers this disobedience. And I won’t be on grindr again….ever.”

“So-called ‘ex-gays’ publicly promote the notion that LGBT people are sinning against a god who will torture them eternally if they fail to suppress and deny their true nature,” she wrote on her blog. “But privately, they often seem to have trouble practicing what they preach.”

Readers of Jones’ article and others have had mixed reactions. Some are screaming “hypocrite”:

“As an openly gay man these men REALLY piss me off because they make life more difficult for all of us. But then on the other hand it’s so fucking tragic that they feel compelled to do this sort of shit in the first place. Please stop doing this to us and please stop doing this to yourself. Neither of us deserve this shit.” (Gawker)

Most, however, are showing support for Moore and are sharply critical of what they describe as a “gotcha! moment” tactic used by the media.

I know that [the press] likes to treat these as “gotcha!” moments, but try to imagine what this poor man must be going through. He’s undoubtedly gay, but been brainwashed to believe that his natural state is a sinful abomination in the eyes of his god.

He’s doomed to a life of loneliness, and will most certainly damage others along the way, as he tries to pretend to be something he isn’t.

Tragic.

Accusations of hypocrisy are being posted far and wide, naturally. Moore is taking a beating over his “failure” to remain pure as his belief system dictates. No one likes a hypocrite.

While I’m glad that Moore chose to own up to this rather than continuing to make excuses as others have done in the same situation, it’s disappointing that he ever put himself in such a deceptive and hypocritical situation in the first place. So-called “ex-gays” publicly promote the notion that LGBT people are sinning against a god who will torture them eternally if they fail to suppress and deny their true nature.

I don’t think we need to be the people who berate Matt Moore. He didn’t lie. He wasn’t pretending to be something that he’s not. He wrote an article on January 29th that implied that he was still fighting the fight, but he was always consistent in his honesty of struggles. Moore confessed the truth about his Grindr profile even though he could have told a lie and gotten away with it.

We are liberals. We’re supposed to be accepting and understanding. We know this man’s struggle and that’s why we fight for his rights as a gay man. But if we, as liberals, condemn him for “hypocrisy,” we are no better than the Christians who condemn him.

I hope–and I’m sure the entire gay community hopes–that Matt Moore will find a way true to himself. Let’s embrace Matt Moore and show him our support.

I am an unapologetic member of the Christian Left, and have spent a lot of time working with “the least of these” and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. I’m passionate about their struggles. To stay on top of topics I discuss, subscribe to my public updates onFacebook, follow me onTwitter, or connect with me viaLinkedIn. I also have a grossly neglected blog. Find me somewhere and let’s discuss stuff.